ANNAM.AI at IIT Ropar Announces Weather Network Deployment and AI Training Programme for Agriculture
26 March 2026, New Delhi: Indian Institute of Technology Ropar announced a set of initiatives through its ANNAM.AI Centre of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture, established under the Ministry of Education, to support the use of data-based farming practices in India.
ANNAM.AI has started the deployment of 100 weather stations, with Punjab identified as the first implementation location. These stations will provide location-specific and real-time weather data to farmers to support decisions related to sowing, irrigation, and crop protection. The network is planned as a model for expansion to other regions.
The initiative is being developed as a digital public infrastructure for agriculture. ANNAM.AI is building systems for data-based farm management with support from the Ministry of Education. The rollout is being implemented in phases, with plans to extend to states including Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
ANNAM.AI will also conduct a training programme for 10,000 students, rural youth, and agriculture professionals. The programme will focus on building skills required to use artificial intelligence applications in agriculture.
At the Smart Agri Summit 2026, Pushpendra Singh, Project Director of ANNAM.AI and Dean at IIT Ropar, said the initiative aims to link research, technology, and field implementation to address issues in agriculture using data and scientific methods.
The Smart Agri Summit 2026 included participation from representatives of government, academia, and the agri-tech sector. The programme covered discussions on farm-level applications and data-based approaches in agriculture, with participation from policymakers, researchers, industry representatives, and startups.
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